


Running towards you in that high place

by FallOutStucky



Series: Chanhun Advent Calender [19]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Christmas Vacation, Cute, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Skiing, Vacation, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 22:18:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17068184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallOutStucky/pseuds/FallOutStucky
Summary: Day 19:Chanyeol just wants to enjoy his vacation but his friends don´t really play along. Luckily though he meets a handsome stranger which brightens up his day.





	Running towards you in that high place

In retrospect, it had been a bad idea to go on vacation with a couple. But then again, it had only been four weeks ago that Jongdae and Minseok had proclaimed their undying love for each other. This trip on the other hand, they had started planning about four years ago.  
When they started university they had all moved in together and celebrated the successful day by ordering pizza and drinking beer. It had been then that Chanyeol has had the glorious idea that they could save up some money and go on vacation together as soon as they all were finished with their studies.  
They were Chanyeol's best friends, and he was really happy for them, but he secretly wished they would've postponed their confessions until after this trip.

Especially when he's the only one out of the three of them standing in front of their hotel at eight in the morning, freezing his ass off.  
Chanyeol can't believe they have ditched him.  
He has called them several times without any luck. No one was picking up. Sure he could go up to their room and bang against the door until they let him in, but he has a vague assumption of what they were doing in there. He sure as hell didn't need that kind of incident…again.  
So he decides to just make peace with his fate and take the skiing lesson by himself. It´s one of three, scattered over the whole week, they had to make it to at least one of them, right?

Chanyeol picks the skis and helmet up from the ground and makes his way towards the parking lot where they are scheduled to meat with their instructor to drive from there on to the ski lifts.  
It's actually much more difficult to walk through the snow with his heavy boots and Chanyeol needs almost ten minutes for a walk that normally takes barley two.

A small group has already gathered around the two vans when Chanyeol arrives. There's a young couple with two children of around seven, two guys in their mid thirties and a group of girls, probably a bit younger than Chanyeol himself. He greets them all with a friendly smile before coming to stand a bit off to the side, next to the girls. He's normally pretty sociable but all of these people seem to already be pretty engaged in their current conversations, and he doesn't want to disturb. Besides, he's still mad at Minseok and Jongdae.

He pulls his phone out of his chest pocket, trying to call them one last time. Still, noone picks up.  
He sighs, then so be it. The class begins in two minutes, if they miss out they miss out, their bad.  
Chanyeol stores his phone away and looks around for their instructor, they should be here now.  
Instead, he only finds the group of girls squealing and giggling, eyes fixated onto something behind Chanyeol.  
The man turns around and is met with a tall guy sprinting over to them, he's carrying all of his skiing equipment and has serious breathing issues.  
He comes to a stop next to Chanyeol, leaning over and wheezing half to death as he throws his stuff on the ground.

"Are you okay?", Chanyeol asks, seriously worried.

The other nods, slowly standing up straight again.

"Yes… I…", he wheezes. "I thought I'd be too late, so I ran all the way here."

He takes a few more deep breaths before coming up completely to smile at Chanyeol.

Chanyeol forgets to breathe for a second. The other man is simply beautiful. His face looks like it's been carved by a Greek sculptor with the intention of creating the most perfect face in existence. His eyes sparkle as they reflect the light of the street lights, they aren't quiet brown, more like a dirty grey. It shouldn't look that pretty but it does.  
Chanyeol is completely taken aback by the man's beauty and forgets to answer him for an awkwardly long time. Now he understands why the girls squealed like that.

"Oh, no worries", he eventually manages to say. "They are not here yet."

Way to state the obvious Chanyeol. The other only nods thankfully before gripping his stuff tighter.

They don't get to talk anything more because right at that moment their instructor rounds the corner. All conversation is cut short by him explaining the basic plan for the day to them.  
He introduces himself as Siwon and Chanyeol immediately likes him. His smile is genuine, and he looks like he knows what he's doing.

After he's done with his small introduction they split up into the two vans while their skiing utensils are stuffed away in the boxes on the roof.  
Chanyeol shares the car with the small family and the pretty boy while the two middle-aged men and the young girls take the other one, much to the displeasure of the girls.

The one-hour drive to the practice ski run is relatively uneventful. Chanyeol doesn't get to talk to the pretty boy again, being squished into the back with the two children. The other sits on the middle seat and is happily chatting with the mother. They are taking about baking and cooking mostly and how to make the best short crust pastry for fruit pies.  
It's adorable, really and Chanyeol's fascinated how much pretty boy knows about all that stuff.

They arrive at their destination and begin getting their stuff out of the cars. When everyone has his skis and sticks Siwon explains to them how to put them on.

"Okay", he finishes. "Now I want everyone to grab yourself a partner, I want you to stay in pairs for today, just for safety reasons but also so that you can practice the basics together.“

Next to him the girls begin to have a quarrel among themselves about which one of them gets to partner up with pretty boy. Chanyeol shakes his head, he can understand them yes, but he also judges their methods. They are so caught up in their dispute that they don't notice pretty boy walk past them. Directly towards Chanyeol.

He smiles when they stand directly in front of each other.

„Do you want to be my ski buddy?“, he asks with a grin. „We seem to be the only people without friends here, so I just figured...“

He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, while looking at Chanyeol expectantly.

Chanyeol needs a second to get himself back together enough to nod. „Yes, I'd like that.“

„Great!“

They have a lot of fun, trying out the techniques Siwon has demonstrated them. Pretty boy clearly being more athletic than Chanyeol executes the moves much more elegantly and smooth and Chanyeol can't help but admire him. The way he moves his body is just so enchanting even in the thick ski suit.  
Chanyeol on the other hand is a disaster. The times he falls onto his face are countless, and they are only standing right now. But pretty boy is patient and helps him as good as he can. By the end of their small try-out both of them are breathless with laughter and Chanyeol feels the hateful eyes of the four girls at the back of his head.  
Siwon finishes their task by telling them to grip their stuff and walk over to the ski lift which will take them up onto the top of the run. 

The wind has got worse and it started snowing sometimes between Chanyeol´s third and fourth time burying his face in the snow so taking the ski-lift seemed a bit of a frightening activity to Chanyeol but since non of the others or Siwon seemed worried he supposes it's safe to take.

He and pretty boy are the last ones to line up. The further they get to the end of the line the stronger he notices the other´s nervousness. He's more than concerned about the other´s shaking shoulders, so he turns around, touching his arm slightly.

„Is everything okay? You don't look to good.“

The boy just shakes his head, taking a deep breath. „I'm just a bit scared of heights. It´s okay really, I just need a minute to get ready.“

„Of course. Should I tell Siwon that we´ll follow them in a minute?“

Pretty boy looks up at Chanyeol with wide eyes. „You don´t need to wait with me...“

Chanyeol just waves him off. „It´s okay, really. I´d rather not let you ride this thing alone, that´ll only worsen the anxiety.“ Upon pretty boy´s nodding Chanyeol makes his way over to Siwon. The older is completely okay with them waiting for a bit longer, he´d never force anyone to do something they don´t want to do.

They wait for about five minutes before pretty boy decides that he´s ready to take on the ride. Still, his breath quickens when they approach the seat. Without much thinking Chanyeol extends his hand towards pretty boy.

„It always helps me to cling onto something when I´m scared so if you want to...?“

Immediately, pretty boy´s smaller hand grips Chanyeol´s. „Thank you, really“, he whispers, eyes squeezed shut as he waits for the seat to rock forward and send them up the hill.

A few seconds pass but pretty boy´s anxiety doesn´t seem to die down.

„What´s your name?“, Chanyeol asks as a way to calm down pretty boy´s nerves.

The other blinks, taking deep breaths. „What?“

„You haven´t told me your name yet.“ Pretty boy is looking at Chanyeol, and he thinks it´s a good thing. As long as they hold eye contact, the other can´t look at the several meters they are over the ground and begin to panic.

„I...It´s Sehun.“

Chanyeol smiles. „My name is Chanyeol.“

„T...that´s a nice name.“ He tries to smile but it´s more of a grimace with the anxiety still present in his face.

„I´m...“, Chanyeol starts but never gets to finish his sentence because the next thing he knows the ski lift lets out a loud screech, rocks a bit forward and then back, causing Sehun to grab onto Chanyeol´s whole side, burying his head into his shoulder, and then stops completely.

„Oh my god“, Sehun breathes out, barely audible with his face pressed into Chanyeol´s shoulder. On instinct Chanyeol puts his arm around the other as if to keep him save.

„Shit“, he curses. „Look, Sehun. They are gonna notice that something´s off, and then they´ll come and get us, okay? No need to be afraid.“

Sehun tries to nod, but he can barely look up from Chanyeol´s shoulder. Chanyeol begins to rub his back soothingly.

„We´re gonna die here“, Sehun mutters.

„No we aren´t“, Chanyeol assures him. He´s really sure that nothing bad will happen, their teacher will get them and even if not, they aren´t high enough so that jumping down into the thick snow would hurt. At least that´s Chanyeol´s interpretation of how things are. He imagines that someone who´s afraid of heights might view them a bit different. Especially judging from the way the other man clings onto Chanyeol for dear life, trembling vehemently.

He has to do something Chanyeol decides.

„Hey, Sehun“, he says, voice quite and calm.

„Mhm?“, comes the whimpered response.

„What do you do? Like for a living?“, he asks. This makes the other slightly look up at him, a bit confused.

„I asked what your job is“, Chanyeol repeats with a small smile, which he hopes seems calming. „We´re probably stuck here for a while, so we might just get to know each other better.“

Sehun nods apparently content with Chanyeol´s suggestion. Even if he knows that Chanyeol´s only doing this because he wants to distract Sehun, he doesn´t say anything about it.

„I´m still studying“, Sehun eventually says, voice slightly wobbly. „Korean Literature. I work part-time in a coffee shop though.“

Chanyeol nods. „That´s cool. I actually just finished studying. I´ll be starting my first job as a journalist in a month.“ He sighs, pausing for a moment before he goes on. „That´s actually the reason why we´re here. We´ve been planning this trip for four years as a celebration that we finished our studies...and now those idiots I call friends ditched me to spend a whole day in bed with each other.“ He rolls his eyes at the thought of Minseok and Jongdae.

„Ah I was gonna ask why you´re all alone“, Sehun answers. Chanyeol nudges him with his shoulder. „What about you? What´s your reason for going on a ski trip all by your self?“

„Hmm, similar reason really. My best friend Jongin and his boyfriend Taemin had booked this trip last year and dumb as they are they somehow managed to book for three people instead of two, so I had to come with them whether I wanted to or not“, Sehun tells Chanyeol. „I had to book different activities though. Because all they had chosen were couple activities. Today they´re doing a spar day I think.“

Chanyeol stares at Sehun, a mixture of amusement and disbelief written all over his face. „I can´t believe there are actually friends worse than mine! Who forces their friend to accompany them to a couple trip.“

„I know right? It´s like I´m their child or something.“

This actually gets Sehun to really laugh, the anxiety completely falling off of him. That is until their combined laughter causes the seat to slightly sway in the air.

„Aiiih“, the other screeches, hugging Chanyeol tighter again.

Chanyeol doesn´t say anything, just keeping the other close.

After some time he begins to talk, trying to calm Sehun down again. He tells him about his dog, his friends, what ever comes to mind just to keep the other´s mind occupied.

The whole time neither of them had realized that Sehun is still clinging onto Chanyeol, their hands tightly intertwined. It just feels so natural to both of them. The thought of it now makes Chanyeol´s stomach feel all weird and jittery. But in a good way.  
Sehun also seems calmer now with his eyes closed, his head resting against Chanyeol´s shoulder.

„Thank you“, he mumbles suddenly.

„For what?“, Chanyeol asks, amused.

„For trying to distract me, helping me I guess. I´m glad that it´s you who I get to die with.“

Chanyeol laughs. For once because he finds it purely adorable that Sehun actually believes they might die.

„I would also be glad to die with you.“

They grin at each other when the seat suddenly rocks into motion, startling both of them. Sehun is thrown forward, his nose bumping against Chanyeol´s, causing them to groan in pain.  
Suddenly Sehun´s face is too close to Chanyeol´s for him to focus on anything else. Their lips are only a hand length apart and Chanyeol thinks about how easy it would be to just lean forward and kiss him. He really needs to remind himself, that they´ve known each other for barley two hours.  
Thankfully Sehun leans back when he realizes that they are moving again.

„Oh my God! We´re not gonna die! Chanyeol, we are not gonna die!“, he exclaims, voice starting to thin when he takes a look down and immediately throws himself back into Chanyeol´s arms. There he stays, safely buried in the other´s warmth until they reach the top.

Siwon and the rest of the group await them at the exit. There's worry written all over his face.

"Are you two okay?", he yells waving at them.

"Yes!", Chanyeol yells back but Sehun just manages to nod weakly, still being shaken up and gripping Chanyeol's hand tightly.

When they finally get of that hell thing Sehun's steps are slightly wobbly, and he gladly takes the support Chanyeol's offering him. Chanyeol's heart skips a beat as he leans against him. Even after holding the other's hand for almost thirty minutes. He has never felt like that with anyone, especially not with someone he's barley known.

Siwon offers to drive them back but the both decide that even though their skiing experience has started rather disastrous, they aren´t gonna pass onto the opportunity to do some actually skiing. They have paid real money for this after all. Or at least that´s the reason they tell themselves. Yeah, that. Not at all the fact that they want to spend more time with each other.

After three hours they are tired and exhausted but really happy. This time Sehun sits in the back with Chanyeol, pressed close to his side while they talk about this and that. Eventually Sehun´s hand finds its way back into Chanyeol´s and doens´t let go of it for the whole drive back to the hotel, not even when they get our of the cars.

Together they walk towards the hotel and sit down on one of the benches in the lobby.  
Sehun rips the beanie off his head, making his hair stick out in every direction. It looks adorable.  
He turns slightly to face Chanyeol, all without letting go of his arm.

"What are you doing now?", he asks and Chanyeol can't tell whether the blush on his cheeks comes from the cold or if it's because he's actually flustered.

Chanyeol shrugs. "I'll shower, change into some better clothes and then I´ll probably try to get my friends out of their little love nest. Ask them to go eat dinner with me and make them pay since they ditched me."

Sehun nods. "Yeah, same. We have reservation for this really nice restaurant Taemin wanted to go to…" He pauses, kneading the fabric of his beanie between his hands. "I actually really want to not get them? Like, ditch them, too."

Chanyeol gets where he's coming from. "Yeah, they don't deserve a nice dinner after leaving you alone the whole day."

"I wasn't alone though", Sehun says with a small, shy smile. "I had you."

Now it's Chanyeol's turn to blush. "It was really nice, even if we were kinda panicking most of the time."

"Yeah, it was." They both smile happily at each other, then Sehun's eyes light up.

"Hey, how about we both just ignore our friends for the night and you come get dinner with me?", he suggests.

Chanyeol blinks a few times.

"L...like a…a date?", he stutters.

This time they are both blushing like crazy.

"If you want to?"

"Yeah, I want to."

The older one raises his eyebrows but doesn't comment on it. "Guess this is what they call a Christmas miracle", he chirps before leaving the two of them walking towards his bedroom.

Sehun and Chanyeol smile at each other fondly, they can only agree.


End file.
